Now that We're a Scandal-Plagued Sanctuary City, What Have we Learned?
By Benjamin Wachs
Someone must have told Gavin Newsom that illegal immigrants can't vote for Governor, because he made a spectacular about-face yesterday.
He'll have to eat crow for a little while but I think I speak for all pundits when I say Gavin Newsom is capable of making it through a scandal like this having learned absolutely nothing.
But how about the rest of us? What have we learned from the City's attempt to rack up hotel points and frequent flier miles?
1) San Francisco's government really is too big:
Gavin's whole excuse to get outta this mess rests on a simple premise: The two-term Mayor of San Francisco (and former Supervisor) had NO IDEA that the city was flying illegal immigrant drug dealers out of the country when it caught them. It was just a little - very expensive - detail that never came up in a time when we were banging our heads against the wall trying to come up with ways to save money.
Assuming this is true, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if it is, it's exhibit A for those of us who say City Hall is too bloated to tie its shoes. A detail like this can only hide in a government that is too massive for anyone to take in at once.
How many reports have come out this year alone detailing how a part of city government no one was paying attention to became horribly mismanaged and/or corrupt? Six? Seven? Eight? Gavin will not reach the obvious conclusion: that City Hall should stop trying to please all of the liberals all of the time, and focus instead on being manageable and competent ... but we can.
2) Gavin Newsom is bulletproof:
It's actually good to know that SOMEBODY learned the lesson of Watergate: it's really not the crime but the cover-up that gets you.
This is not (ahem) the first scandal to rock the Newsom Administration, and again America's Made-For-TV Mayor has returned to a tried and true formula: once he realizes that the story won't go away he admits how bad it is, takes responsibility, and promises to do better. It's actually very robotic on his part, but we don't notice because so few politicians understand how to do it at all.
From the Feb. 2, 2007 Chron:
"I am also sorry that I have let the people of San Francisco down," Newsom said during a news conference in City Hall. "They expect a lot of their mayor, and my personal lapse of judgment aside, I am committed to restoring their trust and confidence and will work very hard in the upcoming months to make sure that the business of running this city is framed appropriately."
From the July 2, 2008 Chron (note: I've smushed several quotes together):
"There's nothing good about all this. I can't beat around the bush. That's my fault. Ultimately, I'm accountable. Ignorance is no defense. I take responsibility, I take it. We are moving in a different direction. We're going to fix this," Newsom said Wednesday."
Why George Bush can't say that is anybody's guess - but Newsom can, and he does it early, and he reaps the benefit. This isn't going to slow him down any more than last year's scandal did. Or the next one will.
3) Good deeds can have bad consequences:
This whole thing began, of course, with a very humane premise: kids who make mistakes shouldn't have to suffer for the rest of their lives. Do you agree with that? I do. Count me among the believers.
Alas, the road to hell is paved with good intentions - and San Francisco's always willing to legislate them. The all pervasive belief - in City Hall and among many voters - is that there is no law of unintended consequences: if people mean well, they work hard, and use the power of government, problems get solved.
If only.
But in fact, San Francisco is a case study in just how much that doesn't work. We've probably devoted more time and money per capita to ending racism than any city in the United States. Are we noticeably better for it? Or has it created more problems? What about our efforts at affordable housing?
Our scandal de jour is just the latest example of how good deeds with bad planning don't go right.
Which brings us to the final lesson:
4) Government is hard.
This is not an excuse for an inexcusable situation - but it is a fact. People are fallible; systems get dumb as they get big; stuff happens. California in particular, with its system of ballot initiatives, seems to think that lead can be turned into gold. But forming an opinion - illegal immigrants shouldn't be chased out of this country! - is a lot easier than implementing it in a way that makes sense. Why? Because government is hard, and getting it right demands humility.
Hopefully that's one lesson Newsom won't forget.
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